Academic Peer Review
by ijs1337
Summary: The Batman timeline has gone by a little faster than the rest of the DCU. Tim Drake is heading/forming the Teen Titans. And his predesecor wants to have a little chat with him.  Reviews and comments are welcome, encouraged, and appreciated.
1. Chapter 1

**Note: In this story, everything in the Batman timeline has happened faster than in the regular DC timeline. Hence, the various character placement changes. To clarify: Tim Drake is now a founding member of the Teen Titans instead of Dick Grayson, since Grayson has already been moonlighting as Nightwing for years. And I'm somewhat drawing on what little I know of the comics and more of what I know from the TV show. Given that Batman events have moved more swiftly, Jason Todd is , naturally, alive and well as Red Hood, and has a bone to pick with his replacement. I plan for this series to lead into another that serves as a sequel. Comments and reviews are welcome, encouraged, and appreciated. I do not own Batman, Robin, Red Hood, the Teen Titans, or any affiliated characters thereof. **

Academic Peer Review

Chapter 1

All was calm in the Titans Tower. All was business as usual. Raven had locked herself in her room; Beast Boy and Cyborg were shedding pints of virtual blood; Starfire and Robin were sitting together on top of the roof, talking.

Behind them all, on the mainland, a man stood. A black duffel bag was slung across his back. He pulled it around, opened it, and removed a red helmet. He held it, looking at it, contemplating what he was about to set in motion. He lifted the helmet up, and lowered it over his face. It was time to go work.

Everyone had decided to call it a night, and had retired to their rooms. Robin couldn't sleep. Hard as he tried he couldn't. He couldn't stop thinking about what had almost happened on the roof that night. He wanted to just lay back and sleep, but he was lost in the memory of- there was a knock on his door.

"Hello? Who is it? Beast Boy? Cyborg? Starfire?"

He tossed the covers off and slid out. Without thinking about why, he slipped his utility belt on, and picked up his staff.

He crept to the door, then swung it open, staff raised.

No-one was there. Looking out the door, he saw the hem of coat he didn't recognize wisk around a corner on the far right end of the hallway, to the main room. He followed.

He came out in the room, but didn't see anyone.

Suddenly, he was struck from behind. Hard. He was nearly flipped over. But he felt like he recognized the feel of the blow. It was as if he'd felt it before. When he'd trained with…

He spun around, and saw a tall man in a brown tactical coat and red helmet standing in front of him.

The man drew back his arm and punched Robin in the face.

Robin fell to the ground.

"I have to say, Timmy, I'm disappointed. The old man's regime must be slipping these days, if you're that slow and sloppy. That, or you just weren't paying any attention when he was teaching you. I don't know which I hope is the truth. If you just ignored his lessons, you're going to suffer for it. The old man might be a damn fool, but he's also damn good fighter of a fool. You can learn a lot from him. That, or he's slipping. And he'd never do that. You don't strike me as the stupid type, either. So I guess my planned timing worked out." The man said.

"You." Robin replied, shocked.

"Me. Come on, you had to expect this sooner or later. So far from that stuffy old mansion with the dank cave and all the protection in both places and from the guy who owns them. The second you stormed out, whether or not I would have a little chat with you became an 'when' not an 'if.'"

"Have you done anything to the others?"

"Nothing that won't heal. I would like to-" He was broken off as Robin charged him, swinging his staff at Jason's head. He ducked it and delivered and open-palmed blow to Robin's chest, launching the boy backwards.

"Now that was just plain rude. And people say I didn't have any manners when I wore that outfit."

"You never even deserved to wear it."

"Oh, is that what you think? What did they tell you about me? What did HE tell you about me?"

"They told me a lot of things. But him… he said you were a disgrace. That you were a failure, a pathetic, worthless failure."

"It's not at all wise to make fun of me like that. It brings out the worst in me."

With that, the calm, collected, fairly polite demeanor he'd had for the whole meeting vanished, replaced by rage, spite, jealousy, and a desire for destruction.

He tackled Robin, and simply hammered his fist into Robin's face, again and again.

After nearly ten minutes, he stopped. He got up, and looked down at the great bleeding bruise that was Robin's face.

"Now see what you made me do, junior?"

Robin laughed feebly.

"What the hell are you laughing at?"

"You. You're done. You ever hear what they say? 'Some times you gotta take one for the team?' Well, I've never known who 'they' are, but in this case, 'they' speak with wisdom."

The rest of the Titans burst into the room, and charged Jason.

**That's it for now. Epic showdown to come. And a few other things.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Note: Battle-royale and a few other things. I do not own Batman, Robin, Red Hood, the Teen Titans, or any affiliated characters thereof.**

Academic Peer Review

Chapter 2

Ordinarilly, when a group of super-powered individuals charges at a person, and those individuals look like they're considering murder, the person they're gunning for generally gives up. There is a small percentage of the criminal and super-criminal population for which this does not hold true.

Jason Todd was a man who could be counted as among that percentage. And he proved it.

He whipped out a pistol and fired a burst of rounds at Beast Boy before the kid could even shift form. The rounds took him in the stomach and, as Jason had assumed, Beast Boy wasn't wearing anything particularly bullet-proof. He dropped like a rock to the floor, clutching his gut.

Jason ran to intercept Raven, punching her in the midsection, digging his finger underneath her ribs, aiming for her liver. He pulled back to avoid the vomit that shot from her mouth, before knocking her out with a haymaker.

Cyborg fired at him. He rolled underneath the energy beam, and tossed a small, disc-shaped device at him. The device quickly sent thousands of volts of electricity raging through and across Cyborg's body, overloading him, short-circuiting him. Jason slid the metal pipe out of the arm of his jacket and smashed off a portion of the robotic half of Cyborg's face.

Starfire prepared to send a wide, large blast of energy at him. He tossed his coat in front of her, then simply lept over it, letting the blast engulf Robin, who'd been sneaking up behind him and obscured from her view by the tossed coat. Jason planted both his feet firmly in Starfire's face, knocking her out.

Jason stopped, and looked around.

"Less than a minute to take you all down. So, so disappointing. You kids need to shape up. Your boss especially. In fact, I've got just the plan."

When the Titans came to, they found a slip of paper on the table in the main room.

"Find me at the place where all go to find salvation." Robin said, reading the slip.

"So, where do we go to find him?" Beast Boy asked.

"I've got an idea." Robin replied.

Jason sat at the bench, his head bowed. He heard the doors behind him open.

He smirked.

"How many of these have you checked in the last hour?"

"Doesn't matter, Todd. I never took you for the religious type." Robin said.

"Why? Because of how I deal with criminals? I may not attend Sunday services out of respect for those who I'd shame with my presence, but just because I kill people doesn't mean I'm not religious. In fact, I can guarantee I'm religious because of that fact. Plus, there's something about being killed then brought back to life that tends to foster faith in a person."

"I can't wait to hear the logic behind this." Cyborg said.

"You ever looked over prison records, kiddies? You know how many criminals in a single prison turn to one religion or another during their stint, and remain devoted followers when they get out? Enough that if I gave you the figures, you'd think I was lying. But, you see, I know it's not religion they're seeking. They're looking for redemption. Forgiveness. Answers."

"So what are you looking for?" Raven asked.

"I'm not looking for anything, Raven. Other than the potential aid of Providence when I go hunting down scum. I found what I was looking for a long time ago. Now, I just keep it up to make sure I know how to explain myself when my time comes."

"You really think you'll even have the chance to?" Robin asked.

"I'd like to think all of us have the chance to explain our actions, save a few. I know what I do, each night. I break the first divine law we ever got as a species, according to some faiths. Every night, I break it. But I do it because some laws must be broken for the sake of the greater good. For some people, the only fair punishment is death. That's what I do. I've realized that. And I can sleep soundly at night, which is more than most people can say."

"We don't care what you tell yourself to go to sleep at night, Todd. We're here to bring you in." Robin said.

"I assumed as much. Give me a minute, and we can go."

"Go? Go where?"

"Outside, of course. We should at least respect the place, and not beat each other senseless in here, don't you think?"

"I can't fault that. Come on. Let's wait outside." Robin said.

The Titans filed out.

Two minutes later, Jason walked out.

And was greeted by the Titans surrounded by a small army of cops.

"Well. I've been bamboozled." He said.

"You certainly have. You coming quietly, or are you gonna be in a hospital for a few months getting bullets pulled out? Robin called.

"Alright. I've putting my hands up. I'll come quietly." Jason said.

He walked down the steps towards the line of cops and the Titans.

When he reached them, he twitched his wrist.

A tiny glass vial fell out of his glove.

It smashed against the ground, and a cloud of gas billowed forth.

When it cleared, Jason was back on the steps, with an unconscious Starfire in his arms, a gun pointed at her head.

"This whole little, I don't know, exercise, has had one reason. It's a lesson. For you, junior."

"What are you talking about?" Robin yelled.

"Simple. You're good. You've got potential. And the fact that you ran out on the old man shows that you haven't been completely molded into his dogmatic way of thinking. I just need to test how far you're willing to go."

"What makes you think you'll get the chance?"

"The fact that you can't stop me, Timmy."

"The hell I can't!" He ran at Jason, who shot him in the knee.

Jason slid a large rectangular tube with a strap from his duffel bag, and strapped the tube to Starfire. He touched a button on the tube, and a weather balloon on a long line shot out and quickly rose high into the air.

"Sorry to run, but I've got some things to take care of. Be seeing you."

There was a roar of plane engines, and suddenly Jason was yanked into the sky by a blackbird.

To Be Continued in The Test.

**In case clarification is needed: Jason was waiting in a church. He escaped using the Skyhook method of recovery, a la Chris Nolan's The Dark Knight. He owned the Titans because he's basically Batman with no self-imposed operational constraints and no utility belt. Keep an eye out for The Test to see how this is ultimately resolved.**


End file.
